The Mumbai police crime branch arrested two accused and recovered a pistol from them in connection with the firing incident in Kandivali West on Saturday in which one person was killed, while three more people were injured. One injured person is critical, said the police.
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The arrested accused have been identified as Sonu Paswan, 27 and Suraj Gupta, 20. According to the police, the duo had a rivalry and cash-related disputes against the deceased, which escalated during a recent fight amid the Krishna Janmashtami celebrations last month.
Regarding the arrest, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection-1) Sangramsingh Nishandar said, "The police formed two teams and began the investigation by first approaching the relatives and friends of the accused. The relatives were interrogated to find out details of the possible hideouts of the accused. During the investigation, the police found out that the accused had escaped to Billimora city in Gujarat and were hiding at a relative’s place. Immediately the police team went to Gujarat to arrest the accused by identifying similar-looking suspects from the Billimora railway station."
The main accused, Sonu Paswan, was already wanted in another case which occurred on 7 September, under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 326 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons).
The pistol used during the murder on Saturday was recovered by the police who confirmed that a total of five rounds were fired and the source of the pistol procurement is under investigation. "The arrest was made almost within 24 hours of the incident and the accused have been handed over to the Kandivali police for a thorough probe into the matter. Also, one of the injured admitted in Shatabdi hospital is in critical state and is undergoing treatment," added the DCP.
During the incident, the victims were standing in a group in Kandivali, when the two accused, on a two-wheeler reached the spot. An argument broke out between them, after which the accused fired the pistol at the victims, killing one on the spot with the bullet entering his chest, while three others got injured.
A case under IPC section 302 (murder) among others, including the Arms Act, has been registered against the accused.
